Ayanami
Voiced by ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8D_Hayami ''Shō Hayami]. The primary antagonist in the anime series 07-Ghost. He is the leader of the Black Hawks and is widely known and respected throughout the Barsburg Empire usually being greeted with salutes by many who see him. He is responsible for many of the turmoils that Teito has suffered in his life including the death of Mikage and Weldeschtein Krom Raggs, Teito's Father. He seeks the Eye of Mikhail and also seems to be searching for 'Zehel' as Ayanami is apparently the original owner of Zehel's scythe. He is revealed to be the reincarnation of Verloren later in the story. Anime synopsis He is first seen entering the observation room for the Barsburg Empire Army exam along with the other members of the Black Hawks, his subordinates. When a panicking Shuri begins to bang on the glass begging someone to help them from the crazed criminal whom they were ordered to kill as a part of the exam, he says 'how unsightly.' When Teito manages to suppress the criminal but states that he has no need to kill him and that suppressing him is enough, Ayanami intervenes and finishes the criminal for Teito and said to him, "You're soft." Later, we see him being attacked by Teito who has recollected that the Chief of Staff Ayanami killed his father in the war against Raggs, however, his attack is stopped by Major Hyuuga. For attacking his higher-up, Teito is locked up for questioning, but he manages to kill the interrogators and escape from his cell. He is about to take off by a Hawkzile while Ayanami, standing on a balcony, watches him. When Teito takes off, Ayanami attacks Teito, and Teito manages to put up a barrier in time, failing which would have caused him grave injury. However Teito's barrier was not strong enough to protect the Hawkzile, and Ayanami's attack sends the object hurtling towards the ground. Ayanami is next seen in an interrogation room with Mikage, a rookie as he has just passed the academy's final exam. He intends to help Teito flee. He has also stolen a Hawkzile from the army for Teito's escape. Being met with Mikage's prolonged silence and repeated refusal to reveal any information about Teito, Ayanami threatens to kill Mikage's sister if Mikage does not reveal the whereabouts of Teito. Mikage expresses that he will not abandon Teito, and as a result Ayanami posses his soul and releases him so he can infiltrate the Church. However Mikage's sister was later shown alive and unharmed - despite the fact that Mikage chose Teito. The Black Hawks are then sent on a mission by Miroku after it is revealed to Ayanami that Teito holds the Eye of Mikhail. The Barsburg military and royalty believe that the only way that a repeat of the Raggs War can be avoided is if the Barsburg Empire is in control of both eyes - so that the Church is unable to use one of the Eyes as a weapon against them. Ayanami sends Kuroyuri and Haruse to the church but Kuroyuri is attacked by Castor and captured using his Ghost strings to ensnare him/her. Castor explains to the viewers that Ayanami can hold half a person's soul, allowing telepathy and empathy, and uses the latter to interrogate Ayanami - because if Kuroyuri receives injury, Ayanami receives it as well. Kuroyuri begs Ayanami to let go of his/her soul so that Ayanami won't be injured by Castor, but Ayanami refuses to leave Kuroyuri and snaps the strings that hold him/her allowing Kuroyuri to escape with Haruse. He then sends Hyuuga after Frau and Hyuuga gets the Eye of Mikhail. Then Labrador intervenes and Ayanami leaves with his soldiers. After this the Black Hawks are again sent to the church - this time to capture Teito, the host of the Eye of Mikhail, since the Eyes are useless without their hosts. Ayanami confronts Teito and the latter attacks him out of rage, however despite his repeated attacks Teito is not strong enough to defeat Ayanami. As Ayanami attempts to read Teito's memory, it is revealed that one of the Seven Ghosts, Vertrag, has blocked them off and that anyone who tries to touch this part of Teito's memory will be harmed. It angers Ayanami, who says 'why do you always have to get in my way, Vertrag?' The fight is interrupted by Teito who warps the Black Hawks and the Priests to Pandora's box, where upon seeing this Ayanami instructs the Black Hawks to retreat. Appearance Ayanami looks to be a young man in his early-to-mid twenties. He stands at 5 foot 8 inches in the manga, but he is drawn several inches taller in the anime (being the same height as Frau in the anime, but being drawn almost a head smaller than him in the manga). Ayanami's build is quite slender, with broad shoulders and weighing 57kg. His blood type is B. He has sharp facial features with a pointy nose, narrowed eyes and full lips, out of all the Black Hawks Ayanami has the palest skin tone- almost white when compared to others. His hair is neck length, wavy and a pale blue or sometime a pale purple colour, his eye colour is violet but flashes red whenever he uses his zaiphon. Ayanami could be considered very attractive in the series universe- as Eve comments on his looks (see manga chapter 52). Ayanami is always seen in his Military uniform: which consists of a black, or possibly dark blue, ankle-length overcoat with gold trimmings on the chest, sleeve cuffs and neck-guard. Like his subordinates Ayanami wears black trousers and knee-length black, buckled boots and white gloves. His uniform has a small half mantle hanging off his left shoulder emblazoned with the Barsburg Military insignia, and on his right he has a golden epaulet and golden shoulder boards as an indication of his high rank. It is unknown what is worn under the overcoat but it is possible it is a plain white shirt (as Mikage was shown wearing one when in the Military uniform). Ayanami's uniform is more decorated than his subordinates, a major difference being that Ayanami has a peaked-cap which is trimmed with gold and has the Barsburg Military insignia in the centre. Personality Ayanami first comes across as a cold and merciless officer, but throughout the series, particularly in the manga, he has shown some kindness towards his fellow Black Hawks despite trying to keep all relationships strictly professional(possibly as a result of Yukikaze's death). Ayanami is very dedicated to his profession as a soldier and to his country, willing to kill and die for what he believes in, and his nationalism is his main motive in his actions. He shares Field-Marshal Oak's view that the best way to protect Barsburg from losing her present territories is to find the Eye of Mikhail and let the Barsburg Empire keep it. The opinions of other people hardly affect him and he does not change his behaviour or go out of his way in order to impress or please his superiors. Ayanami is strong-willed and never complains about pain or tiredness (despite the omake Begleiter ''revealing that he only gets 3 hours of sleep a day). He is quiet and always polite when speaking to others, rarely showing any facial expressions and always speaking in mono-tone. Despite being rather unemotional, Ayanami is aware of the feelings of his subordinates - and does try to comfort them when they are upset, as shown in the CD dramas and when he calms Kuroyuri when he/she cries. He often prefers to be alone or busy doing paperwork, disliking any form of distraction when he is working. Ayanami is very intelligent, being an excellent tactician, very patient, and is rarely caught off guard and only shows surprise when opponents are stronger than he originally thought. Ayanami has shown a fondness and attachment towards animals, especially cats, and owns many pets; seemingly preferring them over people. Ayanami can be rather merciless when he feels the Barsburg empire is being threatened, telling Mikage that he will kill his sister if he does not reveal the whereabouts of Teito, who was considered a dangerous fugitive by the military. However it was shown that Ayanami was bluffing, and it appears that he is unwilling to use such violence against innocents, as even though Mikage refused to say anything - his sister was shown alive and unharmed. Whereas Ayanami is level-headed on the battlefield, he is quick to loose his temper and is not above using violence, mainly whipping or using zaiphon, to discipline his subordinates when they do stupid things to annoy him, Major Hyuuga being the only person who dares annoy Ayanami. Despite his cold demeanour, Ayanami cares about his close subordinates and will try his best to protect them from harm (see episode 19 and 25). He does not trust people easily. Ayanami has a great respect for power, as his motto is "Justice without power is vain" (07-Ghost's official fanbook). Relationships '''With his subordinates:' ' Hyuuga': Out of all the Black Hawks Hyuuga interacts with Ayanami the most. He was Ayanami's classmate when they were in the military academy, so he knows Ayanami for more time than other present Black Hawk members. Hyuuga is often the only person brave enough to enquire Ayanami's motives, whereas the other Black Hawks will follow Ayanami's orders without question. He is also the person who dares to do things like being late for work or escaping from work to annoy Ayanami. Despite Hyuuga's rebellious side, Ayanami trusts Hyuuga in the sense that he will give Hyuuga an answer when asked why he does something. He relies on Hyuuga to a certain extent, since sometimes he is not afraid to show weakness to him as he is the other Black Hawks, for example, after he has lost a part of his body in a fight with Castor, he let Hyuuga hold him and carry him to the regeneration tank. Hyuuga is able to get away without punishment for offences that would have cost other soldiers their lives - using 'tan' to address Ayanami. (However, since the omake Begleiter reveals that Ayanami does not like Hyuuga to call him that way, it is probable that Ayanami may have tried to punish Hyuuga at first, just that he has given up later because punishment won't work.) As for why Hyuuga is not killed for that, possible reasons are that Ayanami doesn't want to lose a strong and loyal subordinate or a good friend. Kuroyuri: Ayanami's attitude towards Kuroyuri may be considered pampering. Kuroyuri is able to get away with many things that others would have been punished for, as he/she can blatantly sleep in meetings without being punished by Ayanami at all, a possible reason being that Ayanami is unwilling to harm a child as young as Kuroyuri, or he understands that Kuroyuri is tired since he/she has given half of his/her soul to Ayanami (in the manga, Haruse has mentioned that after Ayanami has used Kuroyuri's body, he/she will feel very tired). Ayanami can be something of a father-figure to Kuroyuri, as he has comforted him/her when he/she gets upset over things, e.g. when he/she sees Frau using Verloren's scythe and cries. Another example is when Haruse's soul is taken, Kuroyuri contemplates suicide till Ayanami berated him/her, telling him/her to live if not for him/herself then for Haruse. Kuroyuri also imagines Ayanami so be something of a Prince to him/her, as seen in a side story in the manga that when Haruse talks about a prince, Kuroyuri asks him "How can I kiss Ayanami-sama?". Katsuragi: At first it appears that Ayanami distrusts Katsuragi, as he brings all the Black Hawks with him but Katsuragi for a secret mission, and Katsuragi works for Ogi as a spy. However, later it is revealed that "Katsuragi" is a loyal subordinate to Ayanami (to the extent that he did a facial surgery in order to take the place of the real Katsuragi who has died) and for more than ten years he has pretended to work for Ogi to wait for an approprate time to remove him. Konatsu: 'Ayanami and Konatsu interact very little as Konatsu follows Ayanami's orders without question, giving Ayanami no reason to address him further. However it's shown in the Drama CD that Ayanami approves Konatsu's hard-working attitude, saying to Hyuuga that Konatsu is 'such an excellent and cherishable Begleiter'. However Konatsu appears to be the only Black Hawk who has not had half his soul taken, as Konatsu was born without the powers of Warsfeil. '''Haruse: '''Ayanami and Haruse talk little as Haruse follows Ayanami's orders without question. However, it is likely that Ayanami approves of Haruse, as seen in a chapter in the manga that Ayanami refers to Haruse as "my important subordinate". Even after Haruse has become immobile, he is still found in Ayanami's aircraft when they go to Antwort for mission, and Ayanami asks an officer about Haruse's state. In the official doujinshi ''Supreme Sugar, Ayanami is reading all his subordinates' Christmas wishes, and he approves of only Haruse's wish. '''With his peers: Miroku: Ayanami appears to be somewhat untrusting of Miroku's motives, feeling that the Chairman is keeping important information from him. 'Others: ' Eve: Verloren was deeply in love with Eve. In the manga Chapter 52 Verloren was shown wanting to reach her, but then just lowered his hand and quietly saw her off. The Chief of Heaven accused him of killing her. Whether he was her murderer or not, Verloren was distraught at her death and travelled to earth and swore to find her reincarnation. As Verloren's reincarnation, Ayanami has feelings for Eve, as when Labrador tells him he can never have what he wants again, a picture of Eve is in the background, and Ayanami is furious at Labrador's comment. Yukikaze: Yukikaze was Ayanami's Begleiter and he was killed defending Ayanami in battle. According to the omake Begleiter, they were close like a couple and his death took its toll on Ayanami emotionally. It is possible that Ayanami may not have been so expressionless before Yukikaze's death. In the 07-ghost drama CD, Ayanami visits Yukikaze's grave and shows a gentle side that he rarely shows to other Black Hawks. Ayanami demonstrates a great level of respect towards Yukikaze, as he doesn't like to take off his military cap except in Yukikaze's presence. History Little is known about Ayanami's human past. It is known that he was born in to a family of nobles, but prior to the series they were cast out from the royal line for a yet unknown reason. Some elder officers mock Ayanami and his family for that and they tend to make things difficult for him (chances are that they are jealous of him being able to hold a high rank in the army at a young age, see manga chapter 21, 28, anime episode 4, 15). In the manga, it seems that many soldiers in the army fear or dislike Ayanami and the Black Hawks (a small group of officers comprises of Ayanami's loyalest subordinates) because many people see Warsfiels as monsters. The omake Beglieter reveals that Ayanami has attended the Barsburg Military Academy and Hyuuga was one of his classmates. Before Ayanami rose to the rank of Chief Of Staff, he has fought at the war between Barsburg and Raggs more than ten years ago and was the officer who killed the King of Raggs, who is Teito's father. It is revealed in the manga that Ayanami contains the soul of Verloren. Back in heaven, thousand years ago, Verloren was hailed as God's greatest creation - and it was his job to devour the souls that were not fit for heaven. It was shown that Verloren was deeply in love with Eve, the Chief of Heaven's daughter, and the Chief of Heaven accused Verloren of killing her, but it is unknown if he actually did kill Eve. Verloren, distraught at her death and angry at the Chief of Heaven, travelled down to earth and began taking people's souls in order to look for Eve's reincarnation. When the Chief of Heaven found out what Verloren was doing, he ordered his execution (to be carried out by the Seven Ghosts which were made from Verloren's fragments and each had some of Verloren's powers), and his immortal body was sealed with the Eye of Mikhail while his soul is forced to reincarnate in human bodies by the seal of the Eye of Raphael. Abilities and Attributes Ayanami is able to harness the power of a Zaiphon and is shown to be very skilled at using it (universally being acknowledged as the strongest Zaiphon user among the Black Hawks), being able to easily overpower his subordinates, as shown in the Drama CD. He displays many abilities with his Zaiphon; mostly using it for attacking - but has shown the ability to put up shields to block attacks from enemies. Ayanami was shown to be strong enough to destroy the barrier that was protecting the city of Antwort with a single attack from his Zaiphon. Ayanami is also one of the only two characters in the series that has a healing Zaiphon as well as an attacking Zaiphon, as he was shown being able to heal a wound Castor gave him while he was holding Kuroyuri's soul. So far Ayanami has not been shown combating without the use of a Zaiphon but there is evidence to show that he is an able swordsman, as in an episode he draws out his sword confidently when he challenges Teito in a fight in the church. Ayanami also carries a whip at his belt at all times, this often being his weapon of choice, and has been shown to be very skilled at using it; being able to hit moving targets, and targets at a distance with ease. As Ayanami is the reincarnation of Verloren he has also inherited some of Verloren's abilities too, however he cannot use them at their full strength because he is in a human body. Because Verloren has devoured the soul of Vertrag, Ayanami has the ability to possess souls by making a contract, as seen in Mikage's case. However, in a human body Verloren can only uses the power imperfectly, hence possessing only half of Mikage's soul. But this is enough to allow Ayanami to control a person's movements and what they say. It is currently unknown for how long he can possess a person's soul and if this works on anyone. The Black Hawks, his loyalest subordinates, have given half of their souls to Ayanami (07-Ghost official character book). Ayanami can communicate telepathically with the owner of the soul he holds. He will also receive the same injury if these owners are injured, as seen in episode 19 (when blood comes out from Kuroyuri's mouth, blood also comes out from Ayanami's mouth). Trivia *There are some rumors that Labrador and Ayanami may be relatives (because both of them come from noble families and their appearances are very similar). This is yet to be proved. *When Verloren's soul reincarnates in a human body, they should not remember any of Verloren's memories. It is unknown how and when Ayanami has remembered that he is Verloren. *As the Eye of Raphael is responsible for sealing Verloren's soul in a human body, some fans have guessed that something happened to the Eye of Raphael and caused the reincarnation of Verloren to recall the memories of his past life thousand years ago. *Labrador wishes for Ayanami to live his life as a human, which he says will make Ayanami's life happier. *It is yet unknown how much of Verloren's memory Ayanami has recollected. *In Dutch and German, Verloren means lost. *Ayanami, Yukikaze, Katsuragi and Hyuuga are names for four Japanese battleships. *Ayanami has various pets, but all of them, except his leopards, are afraid of him. *Ayanami can speak the Raggs Language for a yet unknow reason. *Ayanami does not like taking off his peaked cap except when he is with Yukikaze, the reason yet unknown. *Ayanami only drinks coffee for breakfast. He skips lunch. It is unknown how often he skips the evening meal. (2nd drama CD) *Ayanami categorizes his rubbish before disposing it. Also, he has thrown Hyuuga into rubbish for incineration. (''Teito and Ayanami's secrets, ''a mini-drama in the 3rd Limited Anime DVD) *Ayanami is good at getting information from someone through torturing him/her psychologically or physically. *It is suggested that he has an iron maiden, a tool for torture. (see an omake in the manga). *Ayanami dislikes when people lie to him (an omake in the manga). *Ayanami is a left-hander. *Ayanami whips a magic mirror who says that Teito is the fairest person in the world. (an omake in the manga) Category:Characters Category:Male